The Golden Harp
by Tiggerola
Summary: High school violist loves music, but lacks talent. She meets a fairy and gets a magic harp. She's been the lone wolf, but learns to turn to others for help. I wrote this story for a contest to replace the main character with myself.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** I wrote this for a writing challenge on TheO. The object was to replace the main character of a series with myself, so Mary Sue haters, beware!!! Since the setting is in a high school, I wrote myself as how I was back then, with the knowledge I now have to fill in extra details. I was originally going to be a violist stuck with a violin (I even had my solos set up!), but as I watched the series again for reference, I realized that with all my viola comments that I would probably get a viola instead, and if the fairy could make any instrument, why not choose something I didn't yet know how to play. For now, this covers the first few episodes of La Corda d'Oro, but I have ideas on how I'd handle later

True story, my room is painted solid with teal, purple, and rose paint. Not true story, me being a shallow fangirl in high school; I insisted that I could not tell if a person was hot or not until I got to know their personality and still am that way in real life but I let myself be shallow for cartoons...so my initial thoughts of the characters I meet are my modern watching anime reactions, which gives my Mary Sue character some disillusionment later if I continue this story.

* * *

It was the start of a new year at Seiso Academy, a prestigious school for music with half of the student body is in the music program. However, I am one of the general ed. students even though I love music.

Being the punctual person that I am, I arrived at school fairly early. It's so quiet and peaceful before the other students arrive. Okay so I have 6 a.m. seminary every morning with my church and it's simpler for me to hang around school instead of going home afterwards. Still, it was such a beautiful and refreshing morning; I could feel this year was going to be great!

"I wonder if I'll find someone who can see me?" a small voice sounded above me as I passed the center statue in the courtyard.

I looked up the statue and what should I see but a chibi-looking fairy! My guess would have been that he was a boy with his golden, curly locks. His garments were similar to a Peter Pan style, but blue. Actually, this fairy looked like a smaller version of the statue he was descending from.

My eyes grew big, after all fairies aren't real. I thought I was still dreaming! Thoughts of the different legends of fairies raced through my mind. Would he be friendly like Tinkerbell is to Peter, or would he bite me like the fairies on Labyrinth? I gulped as he hovered in front of my face. If it really had come time that I snapped from doing nothing but homework all my life, at least no one was around to see me.

"Can you…see me?" questioned the fairy, "Can you really, truly see me?"

"Umm…yeah?" I breathed, barely audible.

A mischievous smile crossed the fairy's face as he looped in the air and shouted, "Sweet! Barely 7 o'clock and I found someone who can do it!"

He waved his wand and sparkles flew out as he did a summersault. The pixie dust flew across the courtyard and made the bells chime as they hit. I concluded this must be the trickster kind of fairy, seeing as the noise would bring staff to see the commotion and think I was playing a prank since I was by myself outside.

Well, fleeing would only make things look worse, but since I could no longer see the fairy, I tried to go to class as calm as I could be. Other students were starting to arrive, so I needed to keep my composure.

Perhaps I just imagined the fairy and the bells; after all I do have a wild imagination. However, I have always been able to distinguish between my thoughts and reality. I couldn't possibly be going crazy at such a young age though, could I?

I sighed as I reached my classroom. No one else was there yet, so it was the perfect time for me to read a good book; I like to keep productive. Soon I was able to lose myself in the fantasy story in my hands.

I was only interrupted as the time for school to start neared and more students were around chatting about nothing in particular. It's hard for me to concentrate when there are other sounds around me so I switched to observing mode.

One girl in particular, Miyo, was notably boisterous in her chit-chat. She moved her arms eloquently with stars in her hazel eyes while telling her friends of the legend of the 'violin romance.'

"Once upon a time, there was a music competition held," she narrated, "and that competition had a super romantic story behind it! At this school, 25 years ago, two of the competitors met and fell in love! But they were supposed to be rivals. Then they found a hidden fairy at the school! They were both violinist! Isn't that the most romantic thing ever?"

She swayed and giggled while she wrapped up the story. She didn't go into detail about the fairy part, but if that was a school legend, then perhaps what I saw was real and I wasn't going crazy.

I shouldn't over-think it; my mind has a tendency to overanalyze the simplest of things. I wouldn't have to worry long since the teacher arrived and class started. Time to focus on learning!


	2. Chapter 2

When the period was over, the teacher asked me to take some things to one of the second year music classrooms on the other side of the school. I was glad to help, of course, but weren't there other students she could have asked? Like maybe a guy to carry all these heavy books? And the canister was kind of awkward to hold with everything else.

As I rounded the corner of some stairs, I felt a bump from behind that offset my balance. The papers on top of my stack slid forward and flew down the stairway. I could feel the books would be following them shortly as gravity pulled me forward.

The books and canister fell as I outstretched my arms to brace my fall. Suddenly I felt an arm around my waist that pulled me back on my feet. I took a deep breath to slow my racing heart down before turning to see who was kind enough to save me.

"That was close," a deep voice sighed in my ear.

I twisted my neck to see my rescuer was a green-haired general ed. student.

"Sorry," he continued as my blue eyes met with his golden brown ones, "Are you okay?"

"Oh, yes, thank you," I stammered.

We stood like that for a moment, and then I remembered all the stuff I dropped. I pushed his arm off of me and ran down the staircase to pick up the books and papers.

"Oh dear, what a mess!" I fumbled to stack the items.

The boy followed me and gathered a stack of his own.

"Here, let me help," he offered.

"Really?" I exclaimed, standing with my stack, "Thank you so much!"

Likewise, he stood in front of me with the rest of the books. He held them under my stack and lifted what I was carrying on top of what he had. I smiled at his generosity then realized something was missing. I looked around and found the canister had rolled all the way to the bottom of the stairs. I ran to grab it and brought it back to the floor I needed to be on. I continued to carry the canister as he followed beside me.

"I do appreciate this, whose kindness am I enjoying?" I asked him.

"I'm Ryotaro Tsuchiura, from class 5," The boy replied.

I noticed he wore a scarlet necktie, which indicated he was a second year student like myself. I replied, "Nice to meet you, I'm Refi Chan, from class 2."

We crossed into the music half of campus. It was like walking into a completely different school. All the music students have white uniforms while the general education students have gray. The music students kept staring at us like we were aliens. Finally, we arrived at the designated classroom.

"Why are you just standing there?" an annoyed voice came from behind.

We turned to find a blue haired boy with his arms crossed like he was impatiently waiting to pass us to go into the classroom. His face had an unpleasant scowl to match.

"You're in my way," he flatly stated.

"Arrogant little brat," I thought to myself, but there was no use in causing trouble so I stepped aside to let him pass.

Ryotaro didn't budge however. He stood firm and informed him we had brought the supplies for his class. He even offered the other guy to help us carry some of it, to which the other kid implied we were fully capable of carrying them ourselves and walked between us into the classroom.

"Who does he think he is?" Ryotaro grumbled.

"Well, we're almost done, let's get these delivered!" I said in attempts to distract him.

After we were done we headed back to the general building and Ryotaro went on to where he was headed before. I stood on the walkway between the two school buildings. The light breeze was refreshing. I thought over the day thus far, and I'll admit, I felt a bit giddy over making a friend, especially one from the opposite gender!

The intercom turned on and a faculty member's voice came on. He was announcing the competitors for this year's music competition. It didn't really matter to me who they had chosen, so I kept to my thoughts as the names were listed off.

"Year 3 class B, Azuma Yunoki. Year 3 class B, Kazuki Hihara. Year 2 class A, Len Tsukimori. Year 1 class A, Keiichi Shimizu. Year 1 class B, Shoko Fuyuumi. Finally, from the regular section of our school, year 2 class 2, Refi Chan."

My eyes shot open and I gagged. How could they have called me? I mean I tried trombone in 4th grade and played viola in middle school, but I wasn't good enough to make it into the music department when I auditioned.

Just then I heard a jingle sound. I spotted the fairy from before flying up. He hovered, looking down upon me.

"Ah-ha! I've been looking for you, Refi Chan!" the fairy said.

"Stalker! How did you know my name!"

The fairy chuckled, "No need to be afraid of me! I am the fairy of this scho-!"

I didn't stick around to find out what that stalker-fairy wanted. I had to check with the teacher in charge of the competitions to make sure I heard right. A bit of me was excited for the chance, but the majority of my feelings was the embarrassment I would make of myself performing in front of everyone if I was really so bad that I couldn't be in the music program.

I rushed into Mr. Kanazawa's office. I found him gazing out the window, his pale pink hair pulled back in a ponytail. He looked at me questioningly as I sprinted up to him.

"What's the matter with you, kid?" he asked.

"I'm Refi and they just announced my name for being in the competition!" I sped through the explanation.

He turned away from the window with a look of disinterest, "Oh, you're that one contestant."

"Mr. Kanazawa! It's not that I don't appreciate the honor, but how am I suppose to compete when I'm not even in the music department. Did I really make it? There hasn't been a mistake or anything has there?

"Nope, no mistake," he bowed his head and apathetically explained, "You made it into the competition because you saw…that thing."

"That thing? You mean that stalker-fairy? Can you see it too? So I'm not going crazy?"

"I can't see that thing at all. That's just what the principal informed me," he sighed, "Oh yeah, I should tell you, you'll have to come to music practice after school now."

Wait, practice? That would mean I'd have to redo my whole schedule! But before I could respond, a few other students entered the office.

"Hey, Mr. Kana! We both made it in!" a voice enthusiastically rang out.

I turned to see two taller boys from the music department approach us. The one calling out had his uniform jacket and shirt unbuttoned, revealing an orange t-shirt underneath. His spiky green hair kind of reminded me of seaweed. The other had long, sleek purple hair with the dark green necktie that the third years wore.

The purple haired boy spoke in a softer tone, "Mr. Kanazawa, I heard that you were in charge of the competition. Good job."

The first boy's face lit up as he noticed me in the room.

"Oh! You must be the competitor from the normal part of school!" he shouted and grabbed my hands, "I'm Kazuki Hihara! I play trumpet! It's so good to meet you! You must be way excited to get into the music competition even though that isn't your main focus in study. I hope you have fun!"

"Easy now, Hihara," the other boy persuaded, "Your forwardness has scared the poor girl."

Kazuki dropped my hands and apologized fervently. His purple-haired friend politely reemphasized the apology and introduced himself as Azuma Yunoki, a flute player. If players ever resembled their instruments, he sure did: tall; slender; shiny. His voice was sooth and gentle. Not that I go for the stereotypical flute, but at this point, I felt like I could be easily persuaded by his aura of refinement and elegance.

"You must be Miss Chan," Azuma continued, "What instrument do you play?"

I choked as I finally got a chance to reply to what was going on around me. What I would be playing totally spaced my mind. My first choice, of course, would be viola, but these were both band guys, so maybe if I said trombone they would be more impressed. Still, I didn't have much time to think of a response as Azuma kept talking.

"We'd have a slight problem if you played flute as well," he smiled, bringing a finger up to rest his chin upon, "then we would be rivals."

"Uh, no…" I stuttered. How could I tell such a gorgeous guy what I really thought about flutes and flute players?

"So you play trumpet then?" Kazuki enthused.

"I don't know what I'll be playing yet!" I screamed, "I need to go practice!"

Flustered, I ran out of the room. Great, I just made a fool of myself in front of the competition. They probably didn't take me seriously before, but after that little outburst, how could I hope to impress them?


	3. Chapter 3

In my spontaneous escape route, I found myself in the hall where the practice rooms were located. I could smell the rosin embedded in the walls and carpet from all the practicing that had gone on in this section of the school. The atmosphere here seemed to have a cloud of seriousness looming overhead.

I could hear about five different melodies playing around me, none of which went together. A slow ballad came from the right, an upbeat march bounced from the left. There was a tuning here and a scale there, everyone playing in their own key and tempo.

Each door had a thin window that revealed to me that the rooms I passed were occupied with musicians. Although one window I thought I saw a glow from out of the corner of my eye. As I neared the room in question, it looked empty so I went in, curious about what shiny object caught my eye.

It was a fair sized practice room with walls built for acoustics. There was a baby grand piano and a bench to set an instrument case. A music stand and a chair were set aside in the corner. The lights were styled after old-fashioned candles which made the room seem dimly lit with the wood, but the sun shone welcomingly through the window.

"I'm glad you came, Refi Chan!" piped the voice I had encountered earlier.

Right before me was the pixie. I pointed at it while I shrieked, "Stalker fairy!"

"Aw, I'm not a stalker fairy!" the sprite pouted.

I poked his belly while asking, "So how did you know my name, huh?"

The fairy pushed my finger away and explained, "My name is Lili and I'm a music fairy for this school!"

"Oh? A music fairy you say?" I replied, a little suspicious.

"I help people who study music," Lili explained flying over the piano, "So they can use their skills to make the whole world happy. Just like how I helped the guy who founded this school! Unfortunately not many humans can see me. I was worried that this year no one would be able to see me again, but low and behold, here you are!" He flew right into my face, "You really can see me!"

I backed up as he flew to the side as he continued his narration, "Now that I think of it, you can't just compete with your fondness for music. Let's see what we can get for you to play because you'll need something for the competition!"

"The problem is I can't play! Otherwise I would be enrolled in the Music Department!"

"But you have the desire and feelings to express that you wish to share with others, right? Ah-ha! I have just the thing for you!"

Lili waved his wand and sparkles swirled around the room and bonded in front of me. With a glow, a violin formed and gently fell into my hands.

"This is a magic violin! You'll be able to play this beautifully!" Lili announced.

I looked at him skeptically, "A magic violin?"

Lili responded, "That's right! Anyone who wants to play it can!"

"Well that's not going to do me any good," I said, tossing the instrument at the little fairy.

Lili freaked and waved his wand to send sparkles to catch it.

"Careful!" he shrieked, "This is a very valuable violin! Why won't you play it?"

I sighed, "One, I shouldn't take things from strangers. Two, I hate violins. They play too many high notes that hurt my ears. It's one thing to repulse others while playing, but if I repulse myself while playing, how do you expect me to make others happy with it?"

Lili directed the violin to sit on top of the piano and sat upon it. He rested his head on his hands while he thought for a moment. After a moment, his face lit up and sprung in front of me again.

"What instrument do you want to play?" asked Lili.

"Do you mean you can make _any_ instrument magic?"

Lili nodded. I knew what I would naturally want to choose, but since it looked as though the opportunity arose for any instrument, I wanted to explore my options. Perhaps something exotic and non-conventional: like a koto, or a lute, or the bagpipes, or an accordion. Still, I wanted to give a shot for a chance to make my favorite way of making music to be fan-tabulous.

"I love singing," I told Lili, "Can you make my vocal chords magic?"

Lili's face came over with despair, "Aw, you can't compete by singing!"

"Then how about the bagpipes?"

"You need an instrument that they instruct at this school for the competition!"

"How about a tuba?"

"There's not a lot of solo work to showcase for that."

"Well, I played viola back in middle school."

"With that, you might as well take the violin!"

"But I could take viola playing to the next level, given the chance," I started to plead, "Earn the violist some respect; show people that all instruments have their own unique qualities and all are needed to make the beautiful symphony of life!"

A tear formed in Lili's eye. He sniffed, "You really have a voice inside you that will bring joy to others when it comes out. I can make a magic viola if that is the instrument you really want."

I smiled, the thought that my feelings that have been locked inside would really come out overwhelmed me bliss. But I already had a viola at home, and it seemed silly to have two.

"Well," I hesitated, "I would love to one day play all sorts of instruments, and I already know a bit about the viola. Do you have a chart on you with all the instruments I could choose from?"

Lili beamed, "No problem!"

He waved his wand and a small poster appeared with the orchestral seating of all the instruments taught at the school. I looked it over while I tried to extinguish the limiting thoughts of an instrument being too hard or too expensive. Then it became clear what I really wanted. It was a cool instrument that not many people could play. It had a wide range of notes and had plentiful solos for the competition.

"That one!" I pointed to the chart, "I want the harp!"


	4. Chapter 4

The instrument chart disappeared. Lili moved like he was pushing sleeves up his bare arms and flexed his wand.

"Are you sure with this one? No take backs this time!" he grunted.

"Yes. I'm sure," I said with a look of intent.

"Promise to be happy with this instrument and use it to spread joy!"

As a child I would imagine many things. One creature that I made up was a plant-like person sprouting out of the ground with a harp. She would play and sing to nurture the surrounding area. Although confined to where she grew, that was a creature I loved to pretend to be, and now I would be able to play music just like I imagined the creature was able to play.

"Of course!"

"One double-action pedal harp coming up!" Lili announced.

He twirled in the air with his wand overhead. Sparkles flew out everywhere. The magical violin sitting on the piano trembled then rose. It floated to in front of me where the sparkles converged and I saw it morph into a full sized harp.

Lili flopped on top of the piano. I patted his head with my finger. I then turned to look over this instrument of wonder. First thing I noticed was that some strings were colored. They seemed to be spaced in an even patterned so they must mark the octaves or something. I ran a hand across the smooth wood.

"Go on," Lili heaved a sigh, "Try playing it."

I went to the other side where the chair was and pulled it up and sat in front of it. Lili rolled onto his tummy and started to chuckle.

"Wrong side," he informed.

Slightly embarrassed, I maneuvered the chair to the other side so I could sit where I was supposed to be and sat down. I closed my eyes and raised my hands while taking a deep breath. I paused for a moment.

"Um, what should I play?" I inquired.

Lili propped his head up and dangled his feet behind him as he answered, "The magical harp is like training wheels for music, so whatever melody is in your heart will come out. But if you can't think of anything right now, you can start with the first song you learned on the viola."

Twinkle, Twinkle, okay. I thought of the melody. While doing so, my arms were drawn to the strings. As if I were possessed, my fingers naturally positioned themselves between the strings and started plucking.

My mind recalled a jazzed up version that I would sing to myself of the song. I found myself playing this made up counter-part when I finished going through verse once. The music began to build and I felt my foot tap below me, but it did not just tap, it pushed on a pedal.

Lili rocked his head side to side to the beat of my tune. When I was done, he flew up in excitement and did a flip.

"Just continue to practice different music tunes on here and you'll do wonderfully!" Lili cheered.

"My goodness! It was like it took on a life of its own, I was drawn to play the notes and what I could hear inside me actually came out! I didn't even know that harps had pedals and yet my body used them as if it were second nature!" I enthused.

While I went off on my experience, Lili waved his wand again and a case formed around the harp. It shaped around it nicely with a handle facing me and a pair of wheels at the bottom.

"Now I'm counting on you, Refi Chan. Do your best!" Lili shouted and disappeared in a ball of light.

When the heat of the moment passed, I thought of what I should do next. My thoughts, however, were interrupted as the door opened. I turned to see the blue haired kid I met earlier in the music department.

He glared at me and questioned, "You're just a general student, what are you doing here? I have this room reserved today, so get out. I don't need a superfluous person listening in on my practice."

I grabbed the handle of the harp case and yanked it. It barely budged, but now really wasn't the time for me to be worrying about being too weak to move it, I was too embarrassed about being found somewhere where I apparently shouldn't have been.

"I was just leaving, the room is all yours!" I spouted as I dragged my harp out of the room with me.


	5. Chapter 5

While leaving the practice room area, I could overhear a girl bullying some girls about being in the competition. They were going off on it being absurd that a first year could compete and urging her to withdraw.

They were on the walkway between the school sections and I needed to cross. As I wheeled my harp nearer to them three of the girls stopped to stare at me. The girl they were harassing just had her head shyly bowed.

"Oh, this must be that general student who made it in," one of the three chortled.

"I bet she cheated to get in as well," another accused.

The three laughed then discussed which of us were worse and seemed to agree on the first year music student. I could see these comments were hurting her deeply.

"Now hold on," I begged, "Who are you to tell us we can't play? I can tell you this girl got in fair and square. Why don't you swallow your silly pride that's letting her age blind you to her potential! Wait until you hear us play in the competition before you write us off like that!"

The head of the trio scoffed, "Well if you're so good, then play for us right now!"

I clutched my harp case handle, "Sure. How about you get your instruments and play for us as well?"

The lead girl brushed her hair back with a smile, "Why should we have to play for a nobody like you? We're not the ones who need to prove ourselves in this situation."

Her laugh dripped with venom. I could tell there would be no reasonable way to settle things with this bully. The first year music student looked at me with pleading eyes.

I smiled over at her, "Come, we don't need to listen to uncultured swine."

The girls fumed as the one stamped her foot and threatened, "You just watch it missy! You wouldn't know culture if it bit you on the nose! You obviously can't really play and come time for the competition, we'll be sure you're laughed off the stage with your ludicrous performance!"

"Hey girls, that's enough," a voice said behind me.

The three girls looked over while the other girl and I turned. Azuma and Kazuki came from the Music Department.

"Hey Refi, are you okay?" Kazuki called out to me.

The girls called out to Azuma in a flirtatious manner. He seemed to ignore them as he stood behind me and placed his hands on my shoulders.

"A participant from the general education department may encounter some troubles that we don't have to worry about, so we thought we'd help you out," he comforted.

He was so close, and touching me. I resisted the childish urge to lean back into him. Could it be that he found me as attractive as I found him, and we only just barely met! Relief came over me with his words while the other girls were struck speechless.

Azuma turned me towards him and caressed the side of my face. He bent to look me in the eye and asked me if I was okay. His eyes looked sympathetic while his tone held deep concern for me. He must have been wearing woody toned cologne that seemed so divinely natural for him. I could feel my face flush as I desired to kiss him like a knight in shining armor that had come to my rescue. I shivered as I held myself back.

"Thank you," I whispered, "I'm fine now."

"Ah, that's good to know," he smiled.

"Everything is not fine!" shouted the head bully, "She was about to show us her skill and how she got in the competition as a normal student while the rest of us high classed musicians did not!"

A general student entered the walkway from behind the girls and said, "Too bad you're plan fell through."

"Huh. And who are you?" sneered the bully.

"I'm Nami Amou, a member of the Press Club," announced the newcomer. She had wavy golden-brown hair and wore a second year kerchief. She continued, "How would you like to move her performance to a day and place that I can cover for the story I'm working on? After all, the Press Club wants a report on her abilities to go out before the concours begins."

The girls conceded and agreed upon a time for next week. Wasn't it great that they didn't even take my personal schedule into account? But Nami winked to me like she knew what she was doing. With that set, the three bullies arrogantly said their goodbyes to Azuma and departed.

"The Bodyguards are scary as usual," Kazuki commented.

"Bodyguards?" I asked.

"Oh yeah, The Yunoki Bodyguards," he clarified.

"Azuma has bodyguards?" I nearly choked.

"It's not that big of a deal," Azuma smiled.

The other girl that was first being picked on stepped up to introduce herself. Hard to believe, but I thought she was shyer than me to take this long to say something.

"I'm Shoko Fuyuumi," said the teal-haired girl, "I'm sorry to get you in trouble like that."

"Don't worry about it," I smiled to her with all the encouragement I could muster.

Then Nami jumped on me, "So Refi Chan! The Press Club would like you to answer a few questions about yourself for the school paper!"

"Oh right," I grimaced, "How about you interview me before school tomorrow? I really have something I need to get to right now!"

I tugged my harp along, making a not-so-graceful exit.


	6. Chapter 6

Finally a moment to myself, the weight of my decision began to wear on me. I may have a harp I can play, but that didn't make it any easier to transport it. Stairs were the first obstacle. Then there would be hills on the way home, not to mention bumps in the pavement. If only I could drive and had a car! Perhaps I should have stuck with the viola. But then those Bodyguards would have been adding viola jokes to their downgrading comments.

Oh well, at least Nami bought me some time to get more familiar with my instrument. After all, no matter how cool of an arrangement I made up, they would have laughed if I played "Twinkle, Twinkle" for them. Now I'd be able to work on some other song and really knock their socks off when the time came.

After maneuvering my harp down the stairs, I took a shortcut along the school grounds. Grass probably wasn't my best choice of routes, but I just wanted to get home as quick as possible. People were staring at me and my difficulty with my instrument and it was embarrassing, so the grassy short cut with less people sounded very appealing.

I pulled and dragged and yanked, until my feet tripped over something. That's what I get for walking backwards, right? I cringed as the harp case fell on its side and prayed that it wasn't damaged inside.

I then realized I could hear faint snoring and noticed what I had tripped on were the legs of a sleeping first year music student. The boy had a young, pretty face and blond hair with soft curls. My fall did not seem to disturb his slumber, so I wondered if he was comatose.

"Hey, hey? Are you all right?"

The boy woke up and rubbed his eyes. He was just sleeping after all. He still seemed asleep with his slow speech and drowsy indifference to the situation. He gathered his music and walked off. I hefted my harp back onto its wheels.

By the time I arrived home, my arms were sore. I needed to lay down with a heat pad. A lot of good I'd do playing if I had to carry my harp anywhere first. Then there was the fact of how I was going to explain my new instrument to my family when they got home. Maybe if I just explained to them that I was asked to play so the school was letting me borrow it, after all that pretty much was the truth minus the mention of a fairy.

I gave one final shove to get my harp into my room, between my bed and sliding mirror closet doors. I fell on top of my waterbed and stared at my purple ceiling. My head bent towards my harp case, but I ended up focusing more on the mirror's reflection of the four-way yin-yang I had painted on the opposing wall. The turquoise, purple, and rose colors were soothing to look at.

My whole room was covered in these colors. When my mother bought the paint for me to redo my room, she was expecting me to have an off-white layer with the other colors brushed across to match my bedding. She didn't expect me to go solid with the colors. She didn't like it because she said dark colors make a room look smaller, but it didn't bother me.

I recalled how sore my arms were after the two days of painting my room, trying to think if they felt any worse after that than they did this moment. It was difficult to imagine feeling worse than the present pressing issues, but the heat of my waterbed soothed my shoulders a bit as I recovered from the extreme exercise.

My eyes wandered over my CD collection. CD's were relatively new, so at the time I only had a few cartoon movie soundtracks and a disc of oldies. I searched for a song to match my current suffering, but started humming a hymn that had a more victorious and conquering feel to it.

My one foot tapped the air as they lyrics seem to give me strength. My foot movement reminded me how shocked I was that a harp had foot pedals for playing. I looked back over at the harp and thought I should try it out, after all the work it took to get it here, it would be pointless to not play. So I took it out and positioned it so I could sit on the edge of my bed and see myself.

Like when I played for Lili, my arms rose to position and started playing the notes I wanted to hear. It was interesting to hear the fanfare that usually comes from an organ to be plucked out, but I was able to do it! The marching beat of the base line I played on the lower strings gave me strength. As a whole, the music invigorated me and I forgot my aching soldiers.

After two verses of the hymn, I transitioned into a folk song. The song I had figured out how to play on my trombone before by ear, but this moment felt cooler than then because I could play multiple notes and rhythms at the same time.

I continued with a medley of songs from movies until I finished with a great finale. I felt like I could play anything and everything. My options were limitless! I plopped back onto my bed, giggling with joy.


	7. Chapter 7

The next day, Lili greeted me as I arrived at school, which was five minutes later than when I normally would have gotten there due to the heavy luggage I was pulling along.

"Hey! How are you enjoying it?" Lili sang.

"Well, it's nice to play, I can do so much with it, but, ugh, it is so heavy!" I grimaced.

Lili laughed, "Just think how strong you'll be!"

"Hey, you're magic, can't you make it pocket sized for transportation or something?" I groaned.

"Don't you think that would be hard to explain to others?" asked Lili.

"But it's so heavy," I complained, "Whenever I take it anywhere, I'm too winded to play!"

"Keep at it, you'll get use to it," Lili encouraged, "This magic instrument is like training wheels for playing, it will help you with the technicalities of playing to help you express what is in your heart. So as you work your muscles by moving it, it will improve those muscles so you can play better!"

My face turned dark, "So I'm stuck with big, heavy thing?"

"Oh, you're not supposed to complain!" Lili whined and pulled out some handmade drawings of us with the harp, "See? I'm supposed to give you an instrument that you can play, you're suppose to be happy and shout with joy, then you play music and bring happiness to the world!"

"It's hard to be happy when my arms feel like they're going to fall off," I moaned.

"Ah, Refi! I'm ready for that interview!" Nami said behind me.

My heart jumped, how long was she there? Did she see me talking to myself? Lili had disappeared, leaving nothing solved. There must be some easier way to get a hold of that little guy.

"Oh okay," I smiled through my sweat, "Is it alright if we go while I'm getting my harp all the way to the school?"

She nodded. Another problem, I didn't really know where I was going to keep my harp all day. It was awkward enough bringing it into seminary and keeping it at the back of the room. I didn't really want to drag it with me to all my classes, and my classmates would stare at me too because it would take up so much room. Nami got out her notebook as I continued to pull.

"How long have you been playing?" she started.

Honesty is the best policy, but nothing wrong with giving my credentials, so I explained how I played trombone in elementary school, viola in middle school, and had just started the harp.

"Wow, really?" she said as she noted down the instruments, "Why do you keep changing what you play?"

I answered "Well, I'd like to learn all sorts of instruments; I think it would be cool."

"So you want to be able to play every instrument one day?" Nami interpreted, "What instrument do you plan on playing next?"

"Um, the mandolin?" I wagered, "I'm kind of playing it by ear."

She continued asking me questions, it turned out not to be as hard as I anticipated. There was no need to mention the fairy or that I had no idea what I was doing. It was kind of exciting to think that I'd be in the school paper.

When we were inside the building, I tried to excuse myself so I could find what I was going to do with my harp. Nami informed me of the office where I could check out a locker to store it in as well as sign up for practice times. She continued her questioning as she led the way for me.

Her attitude towards me was cheerful and inviting, and here she was helping me. People don't usually help me out like that, but I guess that would be rude of me to say after that one guy helped me carry stuff yesterday. With how things were turning out, maybe I would actually make some friends this year.


	8. Chapter 8

Near the end of the school day, an announcement was made on the intercom for the students in the competition to go to the Music Department's music room after school. As I neared my destination, I encountered the three music bodyguards from the previous day.

"Well, miss general student," bellowed the leader, "You were lucky that Azuma showed up yesterday, but we're ready for your debut. Think he'll still 'like' you after he hears how horrible you really are?"

"Likes me? But we just met yesterday," I blushed.

"Are you serious?" the bodyguard shrieked, "You mean you don't know anything about him?"

I shook my head. The bodyguards' shocked reaction was overwhelming. Their eyes grew wide and if their hair could stand straight up, it would have.

"He's from a wealthy family of flower arrangers," declared the main girl.

"He's top of the class," stated the girl to the right.

"He's so polite and well reformed!" exclaimed the other girl.

Their list of all his wonderful qualities seemed to be endless. My imagination soared about how wonderful he was and pictured him asking me out. My thoughts were interrupted with the head girl pointing in my face.

"You don't even know Azuma! How dare you be in the same competition as him!" she concluded.

"What's going on here?" came Mr. Kanazawa's voice from behind the bodyguards.

"Hey Refi!" Kazuki shouted from beside him.

The girls turned and we saw Mr. Kanazawa walking down the hall; Azuma was also with them. The girls plastered smiles on their faces at the sight of him.

"Nothing," the Bodyguards chuckled, "Nothing at all."

With that, they took their leave. Kazuki and Mr. Kanazawa gave the girls puzzled looks as they ran for the stairs. Kazuki then rushed to the door that we were all headed for and opened it to let me go in first, who knew gentlemen still existed?

Inside, there were three other students already waiting. Strangely enough I recognized all of them from my encounters from the previous day. The girl that the Bodyguards were picking on, the drowsy boy that I tripped on, and that edgy blue-haired boy.

Mr. Kanazawa casually leaned against the desk in the front of the room and addressed us in a very disinterested tone, "Well, the principle said I should at least meet everyone, so we'll go around and introduce ourselves."

"Um, I'm Shoko Fuyuumi, first year in class B and, uh, I play clarinet," the girl started.

Everyone then looked to the curly haired boy beside her. He yawned while rubbing his eye. He sounded just as drowsy as yesterday; I wondered if that boy ever slept at night or if sleeping was all he know how to do.

"My name is Keiichi Shimizu. I am a first year in class A. I play the cello," he stated.

"The name's Kazuki Hihara! I'm year 3, class B and I play trumpet!" Kazuki exclaimed.

Azuma let out a soft chuckle, "I am Azuma Yunoki, also year 3 in class B and I play the flute."

"Hm. I'm Len Tsukimori in second year class A and I play violin," asserted the blue haired boy.

So he played violin. That explains everything; I didn't know many violinists that didn't have ego problems and looks like he was no exception to my observation.

Then it was my turn to introduce myself.

"Hi, I'm Refi Chan. I'm a second year in class 2 and I'll be playing the harp," I announced.

With everyone presented, Mr. Kanazawa continued his unenthused explanation, "Well, the competition will be divided up into four Selections. You will be ranked in each one, earning points which we'll use to determine the finalist. Each Selection will have a theme. You can choose any piece you want, but it has to be based on the theme. So your interpretation is important as well. You'll need to strengthen your musical comprehension before each Selection. Then most importantly, you need to enjoy yourself."


	9. Chapter 9

Earlier I was able to secure an after school practice time for my harp, and with arrangements, I'd be able to keep the harp at school so I only had to lug it from the locker room to the practice room and back, which still proved to be a long haul.

I was careful to set it up from out of the case. I sat down ready to play then realized I didn't have any sheet music to read. I wasn't fluent in treble clef; I had always re-written my music into alto clef when the viola part got high enough to switch clefs. I wondered if the magic harp would help me with my sight-reading.

Well, I could play anything I imagined, so I might as well just take Mr. Kanazawa's final instruction to have fun. A fun oldie beat popped into my head. I started tapping and humming it out. Before I knew it, my fingers were strumming along. The string tones were definitely different from the brass instruments I was use to hearing them play, but it had a warming effect.

My two hour timeslot had passed before I knew it as I enjoyed song after song from my mental bank of music. Who needs therapy when you can use music to heal all your needs, right? Although my activity caught up with me as I realized I still had to put the harp away.

I decided to try and push the case so I could use my body weight to help. This idea died at the first wall I crashed into. People stared at me with the dissonant sound it made. Flushed, I stood to the side of the case, grabbing its front and back side, turning it around the corner and continued to the locker room.

Sight is limited from behind, but pulling it backwards I can't see where I'm going either. Maybe this form of hugging my instrument as I transport it was my best option, if someone doesn't cut me off around the corners, then we'd have some casualties.

My long journey over, I spun the lock on the locker to make sure it would stay closed. Now walking home would be easy. I did feel a lot lighter walking around without the harp. I was almost skipping as I passed the fields.

I heard my name and stopped to see Ryotaro running up to me in a soccer uniform. He stopped in front of me, his hair clinging together with sweat. Still, he did not seem to be short of breath from the practice he was coming from.

"Hey Refi?" he addressed me, "So you're the general student that's going to be entering the competition. You must be pretty good to make it from the General Studies. I didn't even know you played anything."

"Oh, thanks," I blushed, "I was quite shocked to hear I made it in, but I'm having fun with it now."

"That's good to hear," he replied, "I've heard some music students have been real uptight about a General Student making it."

Wow, where did he hear that from? Remembering some of the things the Bodyguards had said made me feel uneasy. It was true that it wasn't fair that they worked so hard to get in but didn't make it when by some miracle the opportunity was handed to me on a silver platter. I looked down and started fiddling with my fingers.

"Don't let them get to you," he continued "There must be a good reason why you were chosen. If you ever need to talk to someone, let me know."

I looked up at him. He looked sincere. I expressed my thanks and he said he had to get back to practice, so we parted. I thought over our brief conversation. He accidentally almost pushed me down the stairs, and now it was like he was a friend or something.

I was so giddy; I was halfway home before realizing that I still had no harp music. Ryotaro did say if I ever needed anything, but that would be silly to go to him about looking for music. I couldn't imagine him being able to help. After all, he seemed to be into soccer more than music.

Maybe I could see Mr. Kanazawa for harp music, but I wasn't sure if he'd be much help. Then again, he might at least direct me to a harp tutor, but then I'd have to go talk to a stranger, which I found to be a frightening thought. People are so unpredictable.

I still had homework, chores and activities so when I got home I forgot about my music problem. There were books I needed to read, people to help, classes to attend, cartoons to watch, siblings to baby-sit.

The next few days I got accustomed to my routine, only occasionally thinking about the harp music. Like one morning in seminary, we were watching a video about pride and it had such funky music that I imagined trying it out, but I forgot the tune when it came time to practice, so I practiced songs that I did know.

After school one day, I passed Kazuki while I was heading to the locker room. He was carrying his trumpet case with him and greeted me as enthusiastically as he usually did.

"So Refi, you get to play for the Yunoki Bodyguards tomorrow?" he asked.

Dang, it had already been a week since I got my harp and had my first run in with those girls. True I had fun playing around with the harp, but now I had a day left to prepare for them and hadn't settled on what would impress them.

"Oh yeah," I grimaced, "That is tomorrow isn't it? I still haven't decided what I want to play yet."

"Really? What kinds of things did you have in mind?" Kazuki asked.

"Well, I think it would be fun to do a modern song, but they probably want something classical, but I don't have that much harp music. Maybe I could do something I know on the viola, but it wouldn't sound the same on the harp."

"Hm," he thought for a moment then snapped his fingers, "Come with me!"

Kazuki grabbed me and pulled me along. Boy this kid moves fast. He must run on energizer batteries! We went up some flights of stairs to one of the doorways to the roof. He led me out to the roof and opened his trumpet case.

"I love coming to practice up here," he explained, "Tell me something you know on the viola."

"Um, I played Eine Kleine Nachtmusic in orchestra," I recalled.

He held up his trumpet and announced, "Now Kazuki Hihara shall entertain you with his rendition of Eine Kleine!"

He pressed the trumpet to his lips and blew the first note; then the next two; and then continued with the familiar notes of the classical work. As he started on the third phrase where the unison ends, I started humming the constant beat of the viola part. Kazuki stopped and gave me a funny look.

"Is something wrong?" he asked me.

"Huh?" I gave a puzzled look.

"You're making noises over there," Kazuki replied, concerned.

My face flushed, "Oh, I'm sorry. I guess I'm use to the viola part in the music."

He chuckled, "On your harp, I bet you could play the melody and harmony together."

"Maybe, but all the sections have different rhythms, I don't think my hands can coordinate them along with the reaching the range in some parts. I'm so into the viola part, I can't really remember the melody," I admitted.

"Well, it is true that a harp is different from a whole orchestra. Are there any other works that you do know the melody of?" he questioned.

I thought it over, but the only melodies that came to mind were songs. I did have a book of Disney music for viola, so maybe modern songs weren't too out of the question.

I asked, "Do you think it would be appropriate to play something a bit more modern, like from the radio or a movie?"

"Why not? Here, I can play you something from the latest movie!" he announced.

My family has the habit of waiting for movies to come to video since it's cheaper than paying for tickets for everyone, so I didn't recognize the tune he played at all. Still, the tune Kazuki played rang clear and strong. Even without words, it carried on with purpose. It had an exotic feel to it. I could almost hear a drum beat with the notes he accented and imagine wild animals lurking around the corner. It wasn't something you'd imagine a professional symphony to play, but it still had its own beauty.

When he was done I couldn't help but applaud. He smiled and gave a little bow.

"See? There's a lot of good music out there. It's okay to have fun with it!" said Kazuki.

I smiled, "Okay I'll do my best!"


	10. Chapter 10

When I got home, I went straight to my music collection. With my impending performance less than a day away, I needed to buckle down and decide on what I would perform. Thanks to getting a second opinion from Kazuki about playing something non-classical, my choices opened up.

My eyes browsed over my tapes. As they scanned over my Beach Boys tape, I recalled a time from elementary school where I had a friend who had the same tape. She would play the second song while seeing if I could guess when the singing would start and claiming that only she knew. Later I ended up buying the same tape and was able to better familiarize myself with their newer songs.

The song, "Somewhere near Japan," had a nice, calm intro that sounded oriental, along with the pizzicato sound, so perhaps playing it on the harp wouldn't be too much of a stretch. It could probably pass for something classy enough for those bodyguards. I popped the tape in my player so I could listen while tackling my homework. Trigonometry and music practice at the same time, score for multitasking!

The next day arrived and the time had come. Nami kept me company as I tried to maneuver my harp out to the courtyard. She was kind enough to carry a chair for me as well as opening the doors so I could get out. It would have been easier to do this in a practice room, but then there wouldn't be room for everyone to see.

Nami kept going on about how excited she was for this and the article she'd be able to write afterwards. She was expecting me to do well and her energetic faith in me was giving me strength, but I was also starting to feel queasy as we neared the statue in the center of the courtyard.

The Yunoki Bodyguards were all lined in a row waiting. Their arms were folded with their weight shifted to one side. The main girl was tapping her foot as we approached. I could hear huffs and sighs from them as I set up my instrument, but Nami encouraged me not to pay any attention to them.

She stood back with her camera ready as I took a deep breath and placed my hands in position. I closed my eyes and recalled the song. I closed my eyes and started plucking away. The notes echoed through the surrounding gardens with natural acoustics.

Half-way through the intro, I peeked and noticed there were more people that were gathering around. I felt weak and that I wouldn't be able to finish, but at the same time, I had to go on since they seemed interested and stopping would be more embarrassing than if I could keep up the tune. I had one more phrase to go before the melody started. I kept my eyes closed to focus on the music and forget about the setting.

I began singing in my low register, "Late last night I got an S.O.S. The fairy tale girl's in deep distress."

"What's this? Why are you ruining the music with your voice?" the main bodyguard complained.

"If you can even call that music," another girl groaned.

"It's not like a real composer's masterpiece. It's just some pop song from a washed up fad from a few decades ago," taunted the other girl.

"I didn't know people were listening to that junk any more," the first girl said.

I choked. I thought I was doing pretty well and it sounded good to me, but it wasn't good enough to please them. What's wrong with oldies and what was wrong with singing along? I couldn't continue. There was no point to carry on if they weren't enjoying it.

The bodyguards continued snickering as I lowered my head and clenched my fists on my lap. I could feel tears forming as I heard the gathered crowd starting to murmur as well. I felt so useless, I wanted to convey the music how I heard it inside and not even a magic harp could help me.

Just then, I heard a trumpet playing the first line of Eine Kleine Nachtmusic. I looked up and saw Kazuki standing there. He winked at me as played the second line. My mind went into viola mode and before I knew it my hands were again on the harp strings. He took off on the melody while I harmonized with the viola harmony, adding the occasional cello part where I could remember the notes.

The old familiar tune sent me off into another world. My heart danced and my fingers flew. My right elbow made some minor twitches up and down while plucking like it was use to when bowing on the viola, but it didn't hinder the performance. I swayed forward and backward when we reached to slower section with the crescendos and decrescendos.

We finished to applause from the bystanders. Kazuki cheered back at them. I noticed that Keiichi and Shoko were standing near Nami, who was writing furiously in her notebook.

"How nice to put a harp and trumpet together; it has a pleasant blend," Keiichi said.

"That was such a cute performance," Shoko commented.

With Kazuki's help, I managed to please the crowd, but Yunoki's Bodyguards were still scowling.

"What's with the accompaniment? Can't you play by yourself, you coward?" snapped the head bodyguard.

Kazuki jumped in with an apology, "Don't blame Refi, I came and started playing on my own. I got ahead of myself and interrupted her fine performance. Besides, didn't Azuma say to help her out?"

The girls turned white at the mention of Azuma's name. They stood frozen for a few seconds before they regained color.

The head girl stuttered "W-we know…excuse us…"

They turned and left, maneuvering through the crowd. Most people had continued about their business. I could breathe without everyone staring me, so I started packing my harp.

Kazuki exclaimed, "That was fun! Let's play together again sometime!"

I should feel grateful that he had come to help me out, but a bit of me felt frustrated that I couldn't do it on my own. I should have practiced more, but I needed someone to bail me out. Then again, it wouldn't be fair or nice to get mad at him for trying to help. Especially after how apologetic he was a moment ago.

I recalled the video on pride that I saw in seminary. My words, "Why don't you swallow your silly pride," rang in my mind. I had told the bodyguards that the week before, but could I do what I said? Even if this was a different form of pride than the girls had, could I humble myself to accept his efforts?

Perhaps later I'd be able to find a way to help him as well, but for then and there I choose to welcome the relief of my performance being done and over with.

"Thank you, Kazuki, that sounds like fun," I said with a smile.

* * *

**AN:** This is only the start of the series, but this is where I ended it for the writing contest.  
This story is completed unless readers are interested in how I handle later events in the series. (Like finding harp music for the concours in the days before internet, discoveries I make about the other characters and reactions, personal growth in interdependence, etc.)


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